The Massachusetts legislature has overwhelmingly rejected a pair of measures aimed at restricting newly arrived immigrants’ access to the state-run emergency shelter system and prioritizing shelter beds for homeless veterans.
The measures were introduced as amendments to House Bill 4600, a $57.9 billion state spending package for fiscal year 2025 that dedicates $500 million to the state’s overcrowded shelter system. Those shelters house both long-time Massachusetts residents and recent immigrants with eligible legal status, and have consistently been at the maximum capacity of 7,500 families since last November.
